Greenwich water safety camp expands

Published 10:43 pm, Wednesday, March 13, 2013

ZAC Foundation co-founder Karen Cohn spoke during the final day of the ZAC Camp, a week-long swimming instruction and water safety program at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, April 13, 2012. Cohn, along with her husband Brian, established the foundation after their son Zachary drowned in a pool drain entrapment in his backyard swimming pool. less

ZAC Foundation co-founder Karen Cohn spoke during the final day of the ZAC Camp, a week-long swimming instruction and water safety program at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, April 13, 2012. Cohn, along with ... more

A Greenwich couple is expanding an effort to educate children about water safety.

Karen and Brian Cohn, who lost their 6-year-old son, Zachary Archer Cohn, in 2007 after he became trapped in the family's backyard swimming pool, have become partners with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to bring their weeklong water safety camp to clubs in 10 states.

The ZAC Foundation, started by the Cohns in the year following their son's death, held the inaugural ZAC Camp at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich in 2011. Starting this month, the week-long camp for 5- to 9-year-olds will be held at 10 clubs from Greenwich to Green Bay, Wis. The goal is to expand to 25 clubs in 2014.

Cohn said the club's mission, helping children live safe and active lives, "goes hand in hand with our own."

"Nothing is more important than young people being safe to the Boys & Girls Club," said Frank Sanchez, vice president of sports, entertainment and alumni development for the Boys & Girls Club of America during a conference call announcing the partnership Wednesday. "This partnership is critical to what we believe we do every day for our young people."

Sanchez said that while most clubs teach swimming, the ZAC Camp goes further. Along with basic swimming skills, the kids learn water-rescue techniques. Instructors also emphasize the importance of keeping away from pool drains. Zachary was killed after he became trapped by the drain of the Cohns' pool.

The first camp will kick off March 25 in Green Bay, and it returns to Greenwich on April 15. It will then be held in cities including Chicago, San Antonio, Texas, and Pasadena, Calif., throughout the summer. The camps have also been held at Connecticut YMCAs.

"It is a true extension of what we do at the Boys & Girls Club about water safety," Sanchez said. "At the end of the day, we have to reinforce that message and take it beyond the walls of the Boys & Girls Club, and that's what this partnership does."

Bob DeAngelo, executive director of the Greenwich club, said the program also teaches critical skills in a fun way, dividing the kids up into teams and presenting them with gold medals at the end. Olympic gold medalists, including Rowdy Gaines, also provide instruction, and students interact with local police officers, firefighters and other first responders.